Katerina Sakellaropouolou, President of Greece (thedailyscrum.ca)
Women and Adversity:
Katerina Sakellaropoulou
President of Greece
We in America don’t pay much attention to women politicians around the world. Even when a country elects “the first woman” in a high office, it is not banner news in America, especially if we can’t pronounce the woman’s name. Besides, unless there’s an invasion that affects America, such as in Ukraine, we aren’t aware of wars being fought on other continents. I was surprised to learn that Katerina Sakellaropoulou (sak⸍ a la roo pooh lou), the first woman president of Greece, stands by Cyprus in warding off Turkish aggression. I didn’t know that Cyprus has been warding off this aggression since 1974. Sakellaropoulou stands by U.N. efforts to negotiate a settlement.
In history classes students in America learn about ancient Greece, its system of government, its philosophers and its invaluable contributions to the arts. They know its general location is in the far southeastern part of Europe and is comprised of more than 2,000 islands. It is bordered primarily by the waters of the Mediterranean, Ionian and Aegean seas. Albania and North Macedonia and Bulgaria border it to the north and Turkey borders on the east. It is one of the 11 countries on the Balkan Peninsula. They know its capital is Athens. They may not know that Athens is Europe’s oldest capital city.
In January 2020, Greece elected Sakellropoulou as president. The prime minister chose her to serve as president, and when Parliament voted, she received 261 of the 300 votes. She only needed 200. The Prime Minister has been criticized for having so few women in his cabinet.
Katerina Sakellaropoulou bio:
Born May 30, 1956 in Thessaloniki, Greece
1964 – family moved to Athens
Attended private schools
1974 – 1978 – studied law at National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
1989 – 1990 studied law at Sorbonne II, Paris
She speaks English and French
Has written several essays and articles on constitutional and environmental law
Political Career:
1982 – appointed assistant judge at the council of State, the Supreme Administrative Court of Greece
1988 – promoted to Associate Councillor, worked on cases regarding education, civic service and local government
2000 – promoted to Councillor of State dealing with environmental law
2015 – promoted to vice president of Council of State
2018 – appointed president of the Council of State
2020 – elected President of Greece
Personal life:
One daughter – no age available
Her partner – Pavlos Kotsonis
Learn more:
Who is Ekaterini Sakellaropoulou, the Likely First Female President of Greece? (greekreporter.com)
President Sakellaropoulou presents RBG’s memoir in Greek (greekcitytimes.com)
4 things to know about Greece’s first woman president (fastcompany.com)
My ebooks available at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com:
Honoring 23 Black Women, Recognizing 23 Notable Mothers, Saluting 23 Faithful Suffragists
Sakellaropoulou’s introduction of the Greek version of RBG’s memoir tells so much of her Western liberal leanings.
The Greek population over the ages has expanded across the Agean into the Ottomam Empire (Anatolia). The end of WWI carved up the territory leaving many Greeks on the Turkey side. The tension erupts periodically along with negotiation efforts on behalf of Greeks.
Although she is not head of gov’t, as Head of State, we need to watch her efforts to negotiate this century-old conundrum.